The Mochica Collection of the Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia of the University of São Paulo: material remains of the Andrean cosmology

Abstract

This article intends to discuss ideas related to the Andean Cosmology through the analysis of the iconography found in artifacts of the Mochica collection of the Museum of Archeology and Ethnology of the University of São Paulo. It is also demonstrated how the semiotics methodology, applied to archeology becomes an excellent tool for studies that involve artifacts which serve as basis for complex iconographies.